Thanks to readers who’ve contacted us about the massive readership survey we’re conducting for The State Journal-Register this year.

Some of you have signed up, some of you wonder what this is all about, and some of you like what you’re getting just fine. It was great to hear from you.

This initiative is all good. Frank N. Magid and Associates Inc., a research-based strategic consulting firm, has conducted readership surveys in cities all around the country. It has tremendous readership data overall.

Having this done now will allow us to compare your feedback to what’s already been collected. So at the end of this months-long process we’ll know what you prefer on various topics, and whether you differ from readers in Columbus, Ohio, which also was served by Magid.

In Columbus, readers preferred more national and international news. That was added to The Dispatch, which recently debuted a new format.

It’s all in the right direction as we aim to improve the experience for regular and occasional readers of the SJ-R. I encourage you to join the survey by registering at gatehousepanel.com/statejournalregister.

Online with this column last week were comments that questioned whether we even care about the results. One reader said the survey was a joke because it just asked for readership habits.

That is indeed the first step of the survey when you visit the website and sign up; it will be followed with specific questionnaires about topics and readership preferences that will be sent by email monthly.

One reader pointed out that this is really an initiative of our parent company GateHouse Media. Indeed it is, and it’s a great one that we’re happy to have.

Readers sometimes think that since they believe something or want more of something that everyone does. That’s not necessarily the case, and by involving a large number of readers this survey will report valuable data.

Thanks for considering this. We’d enjoy having you aboard.

Comics survey

The last thing editors want to do is change the comics lineup in the newspaper. Every comic strip has readership, but we don’t usually know how much.

We’ve found out in recent months, however. Hundreds of you filled out and returned the SJ-R comics survey, letting us know your interest in each strip on a scale of 1 to 10.

A 10 – and there were many on your ballots – meant you love the comic. A 1 (or zero in some cases) meant you’re not interested and it should be replaced. There were many numbers in between.

The numbers were added from all of the ballots and you can find the full ranking on Page 15 of the newspaper today.

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Here are the headlines from your voting:

The most popular comic strip in the SJ-R – by a good margin with 6,579 votes – is Pickles. Ranking second with 6,139 votes is Family Circus.

The two least popular comic strips in the SJ-R – and it was close – are Fort Knox and Get Fuzzy with 1,781 and 1,789 votes, respectively.

Doonesbury and Mallard Fillmore – two comics that have wide ranging readership – finished above the bottom seven that recorded less than 3,000 votes.

Mary Worth – a comic that some readers love to hate but many readers still love – finished with 3,011 votes (with a lot of 10s) and is safe in the lineup.

Comics that may be discontinued are the seven that didn’t hit 3,000 votes. You can find them in the full chart on Page 15.

In coming months we’ll bring in a few new comics and discontinue some of the lowest seven in this voting. At the same time we’ll change the comics layout to better display your favorites.

Thanks for reading us. Please contact me with anything about The State Journal-Register or www.sj-r.com.

Executive Editor Bob Heisse can be reached at 788-1505 or bob.heisse@sj-r.com. Read his “From the Editor” blog.